Phew! ISP’s found not liable for email content

2000-05-01

In these days of information overload, it seems a bit of an anachronism to expect an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to be responsible for the content of messages passing through its site. Not to mention the fact that the ISP may not even be the origin of a message, merely a step along the way. Fortunately, a court in the United States ruled yesterday that one ISP – Prodigy Communications Corp., was not liable for its “failure” to spot a threatening email passing through its servers. It has to be said that this must come as a bit of a relief for ISPs across the globe where, though internet laws may not yet be internationally binding, legal precedent is everything.

The email in question was sent by an (as-yet untraced) person pretending to be Alexander Lunney who was fifteen at the time. Young Lunney’s father sued for damages as soon as it was revealed that his boy’s details were being taken in vain – it is this damage claim which has now been quashed. This is the upside – the downside is that the impostor will probably never be traced.

Fair to say that cyber law has quite a way to go. Still grappling with the vagaries of eCommerce, it now has to deal with the problems of the wireless Internet. For example in whose jurisdiction is an off-world bank account? The recent MP3 copyright case may show how existing laws can be adapted to the cyberworld (as does this case) but it is fair to say that unheard-of situations are being invented every day and, no doubt, exploited by those that fail to see the difference between unethical and legal. Consider, for example, the merger of contract-free, pay-as-you-go telephone services (available in the UK) with the Wireless Internet – such facilities may offer true anonymity, with all of its strengths and weaknesses.

Every development marks a whole series of opportunities, coupled with ever more complex threats - the technological sword cuts both ways. We are already a long way off having a stable, relevant, global legal framework for the Web: before this can come about it will be necessary for things to slow down a while. This seems unlikely: the way things are going the technology revolution is still accelerating and has a good few decades in it yet. In the meantime rulings such as this one show that common sense is still a valid legal currency. Long may it continue to be so.

(First published 1 May 2000)